Prep football: Northmen look to continue momentum against Gaylord

GAYLORD — Petoskey needs to win three of its final four games to guarantee itself a fifth consecutive playoff berth.

At 3-2, and with a playoff spot a realistic, attainable goal, the Northmen can’t afford to look past anybody or take anybody lightly.

That’s the tenor this week for coach Kerry VanOrman and his Northmen football team as it prepares to play at 0-5 Gaylord on Friday, Sept. 28, in a Big North Conference game.

“I think we focus on execution,” VanOrman said. “It’s the same old stuff we always talk about. We focus on Gaylord and what they do. They’ve got some good athletes from what I see on film, some kids who can run. ... They just haven’t put enough consistency together to finish, but they’ve got the capability.

“No question looking at them on film they’re not that bad of a football team. At times they’ve played well. We know we’ll have to execute and play well.”

The Blue Devils are coming off a 36-21 loss to Alpena. It was the Wildcats’ first win of the season and they built a 24-7 lead before the Blue Devils made a second-half surge.

Gaylord quarterback Tyler Frisch ran for 95 yards in the game as Gaylord collected 232 yards on the ground, a season high. Frisch completed 5-of-12 passes for 49 yards.

The Northmen are coming off a 33-14 victory over Cheboygan which put them back on track after back-to-back blowout losses to Cadillac and Traverse City Central.

Not only did the Northmen defense perform well in the win over the Chiefs, but Petoskey rediscovered its offensive punch, rushing for 225 yards and throwing for 102. They also used the quick strike, with three of their five touchdowns coming on plays of 35 yards or more. Quarterback Quinn Ameel completed all five of his pass attempts.

The return of junior running back Chase Ledingham was, unquestionably, a boost for Petoskey. Ledingham ran for 299 yards in Petoskey’s first two games of the season (both wins), then missed the ensuing two games (both losses) with an injury. He had 97 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries last week against the Chiefs.

Petoskey was also helped by the emergence of senior Tony DeAgostino, who started opposite Ledingham at the other wingback spot. DeAgostino turned in by far the best performance of his career, running for 87 yards on 14 carries, catching four passes for 68 yards, and scoring three TDs.

“It’s nice to have (Ledingham) back because not only does he bring experience, but he is an explosive runner,” VanOrman said. “It makes a defense have to play you more straight up and take away that run first.

“Tony’s leadership skills ... He brings a lot to our football team and he’s a playmaker. He makes plays on both sides of the ball and for him to step in and do what he did for us last week was a real big plus for us.”

All of those factors, among others, fed into where the Northmen are now, looking ahead to the final four games of the season with a renewed sense of confidence.

“You could sense it from the kids on the field and in the locker room after the game, the confidence was back,” VanOrman said. “It’s a matter now of keeping it going. It’s a funny game, you can lose it quick. A couple of plays here and there, momentum changes and you doubt yourself, and when you doubt yourself you stop making those plays.”

Complacency shouldn’t be a problem against Gaylord, 0-6, which lost to Cheboygan, 42-7, in its season opener. The only other common opponent to this point is Cadillac, which defeated the Blue Devils, 33-6, two weeks ago.

The fact that the Northmen are, basically, in a must-win situation — and will continue to be for the rest of the season — is a positive, VanOrman said.

“If you’re going to have a chance (at the playoffs), you’ve got to continue to win, and I think the kids realize that,” he said. “The whole focus is to go out and execute and be consistent in what you do and not make mistakes and beat yourself.”

While Ledingham’s return gave the Northmen a boost a week ago, they should get another this week when senior Ben Loomis returns after missing most of the last two games because of injury.

Loomis is a starter on the offensive line at guard and at middle linebacker on defense.

At the beginning of the season, Loomis and Ledingham were starting at middle linebacker. With both out, juniors Shea Whitmore and Connor Reed have stepped in at those positions on defense. Both will start there on Friday, while Loomis returns to start on offense.

“He’s done a great job for us in there,” VanOrman said of Whitmore, who was starting at outside linebacker before moving into the middle. “He’s a very versatile kid. He’s played guard, tight end, and now fullback (on offense).

“We’re real happy with the way (Whitmore and Reed) have stepped up and done the job for us in there. That’s going to happen in football. You just never know who’s going to down and who’s going to be asked to change positions and step up. We’ve had our challenges this year, and those guys have just done a great job. ... We were really impressed with them.

“Experience is so valuable. You talk about it, and you see it at every level. You just don’t get better until you get some of that game-speed experience and from there it’s just how quick you pick it up and develop. We just hope they keep developing.”